Women often cut short their careers due to several reasons. They feel going back to their profession would be tough and resent the idea of reapplying for a job. They think of all the hurdles and encumbrances. IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ladies Wing that has always been in the forefront in facilitating women to become more independent and self-sufficient, steps in here where they organised an event “Restart Your Career” today to ease the process of hiring.

About 60-odd women participants took part in the event. Top corporates such as Tata Group, Godrej Industries, Sula Vineyards, Ugam solutions, Antarang Foundation, Export Accelerator and others were the companies that were present. The spokespersons from respective companies explained the women participants about what their requirements were and how their companies go about the hiring process. Post the interactions, interviews with several candidates were taken.

Ms Ruma Rao from Tata Group Human Resources talking about Tata’s Second Career Programme said, “We started the programme in the year 2008 and had been hiring every year, since then. It’s heartening to see that so many companies today are actively looking at this space (women who wish to restart their career after a break) because we realised over the years that there is an immense talent pool that has been overlooked by the industry.”

Ms Mohana Nair, the President of IMC’ Ladies Wing, reminiscing her early years of career said, “When my children were younger I could only work for two hours, but as they grew older I was able to build up my practice and establish a law firm. You will appreciate that it wasn’t an easy task trying to prove myself to my clients, judges and also rushing home to ensure that my children were well fed and well looked after. But it’s possible, and that’s what one needs to focus on.”

Overall the event was successful as there were several women who have moved up to the next level of the hiring process.

“We thank the companies that have come out in support of this cause and look forward to more women re-entering the workforce,” added Ms Mohana Nair.

According to the Labor Force Participation Rate for Women, if India can increase women’s labour force participation by ten percentage points (68 million more women) by 2025, India could increase its GDP by 16 per cent. We are hoping the participants of today’s events would inspire many other women who are still contemplating whether or not to join back work. And with increasing number of corporates joining in on this movement with reputed bodies like the IMC Ladies Wing enabling this movement, re-starting one’s second innings is genuinely possible.